1. Field of the Invnetion
The present invention generally relates to medical equipment for handling and temporarily storing materials susceptible to damage if allowed to warm to or above room temperature. More particularly, this invention relates to a medical specimen tote configured to keep blood or other body fluids chilled for an extended period of time.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Blood specimens taken from patients for analysis at some later time are placed in a vial or tube and then chilled to prevent the blood or its components from metabolizing or otherwise undergoing an undesired change. The specimens must safely remain near freezing until they can be analyzed, a typical first step being centrifuging to separate the blood components. The typical method used by phlebotomists and laboratory technicians for keeping blood in adequately chilled has been to fill a Styrofoam cup with ice, and then immerse the blood specimen tubes in the ice. In addition to posing a nuisance to laboratory personnel, this method leaves the specimen tubes vulnerable to breakage by tipping, and does not provide laboratory personnel any feedback as to whether the specimens are properly chilled. While various devices are known for chilling individual containers, such as canned beverages, these devices are unsuitable for handling critical medical laboratory specimens.
The present invention provides a medical specimen tote assembly containing a coolant. The assembly is configured with wells sized to individually receive and safely support one or more specimen vessels. At least one of the components of the assembly or a portion thereof is formed to contain a temperature-sensitive material that causes the component or portion to change color when it exceeds a preselected temperature. More preferably, the material causes a color change to occur near freezing, so as to indicate if the temperature of the component, and therefore the specimens held by the assembly, is near freezing, i.e., slightly above 0xc2x0 C.
Prior to usage, the assembly will typically be placed in a freezer to cool the coolant to about 0xc2x0 C. or less. The coolant is preferably of a type that will remain near 0xc2x0 C. for an extended period of time once removed from the freezer. The temperature-sensitive material can be relied on to indicate when the assembly and its coolant are sufficiently cold for use. Specimen vessels containing blood or another material susceptible to damage from room temperature conditions can then be placed in the assembly and, as long as the temperature-sensitive material indicates a sufficiently cold temperature exists, will thereafter remain at a safe temperature until removed.
In view of the above, it can be appreciated that the tote assembly of this invention fulfills an important need of phlebotomists and other medical laboratory technicians by saving time, taking up less space and supplying a more reliable means of transporting chilled blood specimens.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will be better appreciated from the following detailed description.